A lot of cities had urban villages, including Binhai City.
An urban village started out as an ordinary village near the city. As the city expanded, the village became part of the city, but was never demolished and rebuilt for some reason. It became a unique scenery on its own, and could not blend in with the tall buildings around them.
Ning Lan's classmates were grad students in Binhai University, and were familiar with this urban village. A lot of student couples in Binhai University did not live on the campus residence, but rented their own place in the urban village. Most houses in the village were built by the villagers and were three-story buildings with simple furniture and cheap rent. It was popular among the student couples.
The problem with an urban village was evident. It was chaotic!
